Design gurus from across the globe are poised to share their expertise and vision at the two-day iDEA Herald Design Forum that opened on Wednesday.

The forum is the first of its kind here devoted to industrial design and will offer a chance for discussion on the look of future designs and how the corporate sector can adopt them to attract consumers who want products that not only function well, but look good.

The attendees include highly-acclaimed designers Karim Rashid, former BMW designer Chris Bangle and nation branding expert Simon Anholt.

As the organizers and the designers were quick to point out, the Herald forum will be mostly about how to change lives and help better the world by creating products that are aesthetically pleasing, functional and eco-friendly.

Rashid, in particular, has predicted that as consumers become savvier and more demanding, companies will become more competitive, because their products won’t sell without good design.

“Many companies honestly are in a war for business market share, but don’t realize that design is the only really brand differentiator today,” he said.

On top of that, consumers now are looking for ways to consume while at the same time contributing to creating an eco-friendly environment.

“Design is more than just creating beautiful things; it can alter the way people perceive things, empower them and give them the tools to look at problems and solve them collectively themselves. I think with the rising prices in oil, for example, we are seeing more and more plastic packaging reduced simply because the cost to make plastic has risen so high. This has resulted in not only more environmentally-friendly packaging, but more beautiful design that is pleasing to the eye and -- this is key -- easier to open,” said environmental activist Danny Seo.

Rashid’s Bobble bottle is one such example where design is used to promote eco-friendliness, as the bottle filters water to help reduce reliance on plastic bottled water.

Last year, South Koreans consumed some 5.7 billion bottles of water, showing that it is high time the issue of plastic waste is addressed.

But of course, profit is another critical aspect the companies cannot ignore, and the branding experts have been called in to explain just how to most effectively brand their products.

On the second day of the forum, Martin Lindstrom, brand futurist and the author of “Buyology,” will be delivering a keynote speech in that vein titled “Design Changes World.”

His speech will be followed by three of the forum’s main sessions; “National and City Design,” “Industrial and Corporate Design” and “Culture and Design.”

A host of local designers, such as Innodesign chief executive Kim Young-se and creator of the hit animation “Pororo the Little Penguin” Choi Sang-hyun, will be taking part in the discussions, along with Myung Films CEO Shim Jae-myung, the head of one of Korea’s largest film production companies.

For the discussion on ecological city planning, Danny Seo and urban design planning expert Richard Register will be on hand.

The Herald forum is not only for high-profiled opinion leaders, as on Wednesday the presentation tournament for aspiring young designers will be held on the sidelines of the main event.

College students will compete on stage to define how they see the future of industrial designs. The winning team will be offered a chance to showcase their work to the panelists.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)